Deviations from the Gaussian distribution of mesoscopic conductance fluctuations

The conductance distribution of metallic mesoscopic systems is considered. The variance of this distribution describes the universal conductance fluctuations, yielding a Gaussian distribution of the conductance. We calculate diagrammatically the third cumulant of this distribution, the leading deviation from the Gaussian. We confirm random matrix theory calculations that the leading contribution in quasi-one dimension vanishes. However, in quasi two dimensions the third cumulant is negative, whereas in three dimensions it is positive.